Can Migrants Make A Successful Business?

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Welcome to the fifth episode of the new

season of Talking Hospitality.

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I'm TPR Andrews, joined by my fantastic

host, Grace Orshin.

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Hi everyone.

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We are thrilled to bring you another

episode for this fabulous season and we

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have a very special guest, the renowned

chef and restaurateur, Cyrus Todewala.

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And we were lucky enough to record this

episode at Cafe Spice Namaste.

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So any sounds you hear, they are of a

working restaurant.

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inspiration

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Before we dive into it, did you know that

immigrants have significantly shaped the

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UK's hospitality landscape?

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Absolutely.

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In fact, a study by the Migration

Observatory in Oxford, the University of

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Oxford, reveals that immigrants own a

substantial proportion of hospitality

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businesses in the UK.

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That's very true, actually.

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That is very true.

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And in case you can hear him, that brings

us lovely to our esteemed guest, Cyrus

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Todiwala.

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Welcome to the show.

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Thank you.

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Welcome back.

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Tell us your story, Cyrus.

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I came here on the behest of one of my

friends who worked with me at the Taj

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Mahal Hotel in Bombay, where our careers

began.

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And he was here working with the Taj group

in London, but he also had the opportunity

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to take over someone else's restaurant and

manage it.

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So he said, if you join me, then we'll

take the restaurant over and we'll manage

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it.

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That was in 1991.

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Told mom and dad I'll be back in seven

years.

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It's not happened yet.

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And one thing led to another, to another,

to another.

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We ended up having to take over that

business because it was at the peak of the

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90 recession.

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From there on, we partnered with the

owners of Smolensky's restaurant.

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Michael Gottlieb had this vision about

having a chain of Indian restaurants in

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this country.

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There never was one.

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And so the Cafe Spice was born.

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Because Namaste was a restaurant we

managed in early street, just further down

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the road, became very synonymous with my

name.

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And so we brought the name Namaste into

Cafe Spice, so as to keep it different.

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And thankfully so, because as soon as Cafe

Spice became very famous, 90 other Cafe

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Spice restaurants opened up straight away.

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And you couldn't differentiate, because

the only thing differentiated was Namaste,

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and that we could trademark.

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We could not trademark Cafe Spice because

their generic terms.

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So Cafe Spice was born in November 1995.

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We've just completed 28 years last week of

our anniversary.

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Yes, it's been a long journey.

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It's been a tedious, long, tiring, at

times, but exhilarating, exciting.

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Lots of trials and tribulations, and we've

come a long way.

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But we are here today.

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reasonably well established again.

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Maybe a couple of years from now, you

shall see a little bit more success coming

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our way.

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So we will.

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Exactly, we'd love to see that.

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So we know that your journey, we're gonna

talk a bit more about the resilience that

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you've gone through and some of the

difficulties.

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What was it that sparked your culinary

interest when you were younger?

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My culinary interest started many years

ago, even as a child.

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I just loved dabbling in food.

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So going back many years when I was

little, I was very highly asthmatic.

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And as a result, you missed a lot of

school.

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So I'd be wheezing and puffing and

coughing in the morning.

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Mum would then say, sorry, you can't go to

school today because, you know, it's

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really bad.

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But when nine o'clock goes mentally in the

brain, you start feeling better because

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now, you know, I'm not going to school.

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It's nine o'clock.

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And as soon as I start feeling better, I'm

trouble for mother.

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And in Bombay, most women send their

husbands tiffins.

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So the tiffin man came and collected the

tiffin at 11 o'clock or so and took it to

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your father's office and delivered a box

there.

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So mom would start cooking immediately

after my sister left for school and

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everything happened.

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And then my trouble would start and then

she'd say okay behave yourself and

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dragging in the kitchen.

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And the little bits and pieces would

start.

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The family loved food so the interest grew

and I think after my A levels I had no

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clue what I was going to do.

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I wanted to get into agriculture.

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which is one of my other loves, you know,

I love the environment, land, animals.

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And so, hesitatingly thinking what can I

do?

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And then a friend of my sister said, why

don't you come and have a look at my

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college?

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You may like it, you like cooking.

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Come and have a look.

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And that's it.

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That changed my mind completely.

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And so I went into hospitality.

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In those days, there was no degree courses

in India.

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There were only diplomas.

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Finished that, got selected by the Taj

group to come and work for them.

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And...

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That's how the career began at the Taj

Mahal Hotel in Bombay and worked with them

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for a good nearly 16 years.

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Rose from being a very low down commie to

the youngest executive chef in India of a

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five star deluxe property at one time.

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And then eventually in charge of two

properties.

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Then threw it all up and came and started

back again as a commie in the restaurant

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here because the food...

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was named Indian but it was an Indian.

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I couldn't understand it.

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Every name was descriptive of Indian food

but there's no representation of it.

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It's true.

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And I thought how can Britain be wrong?

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And so I had to then have the guts and the

courage to change everything and that

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brought the restaurant into a great dip

again because people walked in, didn't

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recognize the menu, walked away and those

were challenging times as well.

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Eventually the articles came out, the

reviews came out.

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same people came back and then we had one

of the best followings ever of regular

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customers through the previous Cafe Spice

Namaste and now the old regulars are

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coming back, still few of them and we are

building many more new ones.

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So people have come to realize that our

food is different.

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Don't compare it.

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It's a really great story.

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Like 28 years is very impressive.

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So firstly, congratulations.

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Yes, thank you very much.

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And secondly, could you talk to us on the

dips?

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And we are obviously talking about some of

the highs as well.

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But what would you say is the biggest

hurdle for you?

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What was the biggest hurdle in

establishing Cafe Spice Namaste?

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Well, I mean, establishing Cafe Spice

Namaste would be the easier option, but

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establishing myself as a resident of UK

was the bigger hurdle.

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I came on a work permit to this country.

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That means I'm employed by somebody else.

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Circumstances changed and we decided that

if my wife joined me, we will take over

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the running of that business.

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I had no idea what I would do, but we had

too much at stake, given up everything

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back home.

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And I said, if you join me, we'll take

over the running of that restaurant.

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And she joined.

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What happened was that changed my position

with the work permit from being an

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employee to an employer.

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And that...

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ruffle the feathers of the Home Office.

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Yes.

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We had a 10-year battle on our hands to

just live in this country.

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It's crazy.

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So a lot of things happened during that

time.

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I don't blame them.

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It's just that in that bureaucratic circle

you get picked out because you've done

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something which is not expected by the

system.

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And the system then tick-marked you as a

man to be expelled from this country, but

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we had so much at stake.

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Day we were employing people, had I been

ticked out, they would have lost their

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jobs.

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Children were in school, they were small,

and we could not give up.

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So that was the first big hurdle.

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And even while Cafe Spice was successful,

that hung as a sword on my head for a few

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more years until eventually things evened

out, then the people who helped on the

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journey to make sure that you were

recognized as a person who was integral to

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the fabric, and eventually got accepted.

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We were very much the pioneers in that

sense, in the sense that I very bravely

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changed the cuisine not knowing that the

British public was too set in their ways

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on how they considered and thought of

Indian food.

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Many still are.

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We still cannot change everybody's

perceptions.

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But that was a perception I did not

understand.

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And I was glad I didn't understand that

because if I understood that I would have

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probably veered towards that a little bit.

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to pander to the expectations.

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But I had to throw it all out and just

completely revamp the situation.

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I paved the way, I think, in a sense, for

other great chefs to follow and make a

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bigger success of it.

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I'm very happy with the fact that I

allowed that to happen to myself.

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As a result, the others were able to tread

on a little bit more former ground because

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the foundation started getting laid.

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People started to understand that there is

a lot more to the subcontinent of India.

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than chicken tikka masala.

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Britain at the moment, I think is the most

fantastic country in the world for

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experimentation of any cuisine because the

British palate is so well developed now.

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Yeah.

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Where it was not, 28, 29, 30 years ago, it

is now developed to an extent whereby

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which the British public are receptive to

anything and they will try it.

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Some will love it, some will not love it,

but they will definitely go and try it.

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You can see outside the trends have

changed.

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Yes.

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Because so many now South American

restaurants, Vietnamese restaurant,

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Chinese restaurant, Thai restaurant, you

name it, there's a plethora of them out

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there.

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And everyone's vying for business.

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By the same time, every peer inside, it's

not always their own people, immigrants,

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it's always the British public that is the

most prolific amongst restaurants.

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I think we all had a little part to play

in that.

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Definitely.

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And do you think it was your forward

thinking that kept you motivated through

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those tougher times?

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I often toy with that idea myself.

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I will always think what's next for me to

do to be creative, to be different.

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Educating people was, I think, primary in

a sense.

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And then there's so much out there that I

still would love to try.

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It is a motivation.

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I mean, you go to the markets.

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I am very involved with farming.

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I'm very involved with the environment.

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I'm very involved with the marine

conservations.

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I'm involved in all these activities.

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So for me,

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It's always exciting to do different

things to highlight what goes on.

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And that gives me an opportunity to remain

excited like a child.

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I could have given up and easily gone back

home.

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We didn't have our passports.

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My parents were old.

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I couldn't go visit them.

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That was the most painful thing for us

that I can't go see my mom and dad.

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It still hangs on my head, but I couldn't

leave the country.

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And that's exactly what somebody would

have wanted.

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Leave the country, ask for your passports

and you're not coming back.

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So it's all these things working on your

mind.

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How do I look after my kids and my wife?

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What do I do?

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And I went through all of that.

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And we came out laughing.

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I think those are great things to reflect

upon.

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So one day, hopefully, if I get a chance,

maybe, you know, write a little story

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about your life and about what you've been

through.

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And I often toyed with the idea that was

it some form of racism?

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And I don't believe in that.

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Hopefully somebody somewhere listens and

understands what the real situation is.

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And then like me, you benefit from it.

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Your story is one of resilience and keep

going.

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Do you think there's anything in your

background or your culture that's made you

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like that or is that something you just

are as a person or circumstances made you

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like that?

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Ooh, there has to be something of both in

there.

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So we never had a very easy life anyway

throughout.

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It's been tough, I mean, as a child with

asthma and then there's one aspect.

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Second aspect is we were okay.

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We never felt ever deprived.

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It's always that you must fight on to make

it better.

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The other is community.

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So we are foreigners to India.

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We fled Persia from religious persecution.

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One of the promises our community had made

was that we shall always mingle and

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amalgamate within your people.

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We will make it better.

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We will always be productive.

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We will always contribute.

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So there are these historical things that

great Persians have played.

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I think somewhere along the line.

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It gets into your genes and you want to

succeed and you want to fight.

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Of course, there are people born with a

golden spoon in their mouth.

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You've got to create that golden spoon for

yourself.

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And that's what we are all about.

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We always had rich kids in our schools and

you know, very rich and they had

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everything under the sun.

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For example, I had a prince in my

dormitory.

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In school, he was the only guy who got a

big glass of milk in the boarding school.

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We never got milk and he used to keep

showing up.

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One fine day I grabbed his milk and

chucked it into our teeth.

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And he was very upset because he is so

used to having milk all the time.

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So I think, you know, a lot of people are

born with that.

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But most of us are not.

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And we have to work hard to create our own

golden spoons.

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And each golden spoon is different.

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Everybody has their set of ambitions.

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Everybody has their own mental makeup of

what they want to achieve.

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Wealth has never been my motivation.

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I remember in class five, the poem that

was, I had to say, on stage.

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The last line was, lives of great men all

remind us how to make our lives sublime

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and departing leave behind us footprints

on the sands of time.

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And that's been my motivation always.

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Will I leave a footprint behind?

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Will I leave a legacy behind?

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And what will be my legacy?

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It's a great ending to that poem.

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It has never left my mind and I was only

tiny.

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Standard five is I was tiny.

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I think it's a great ending to the book

that you're going to write as well.

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Hopefully.

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One final day.

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Bring it back to you today.

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What advice would you give to immigrants

who are aspiring to start their own

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business in hospitality in the UK?

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You know some of the big chef names within

the Indian diaspora here.

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They used to all come and hang around in

my kitchen at one time.

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Now they are superbly successful, more

successful rather.

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They have more restaurants, they have

generated enough wealth for themselves

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etc.

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But I think they would come and hang

around and say what is it, what should we

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do?

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And I said, you should, one thing in your

mind is, you have to break certain

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barriers.

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Everyone says America is the greatest land

in the world, but don't forget, it is 75

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times the landmass that we have gotten.

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It's a vast nation compared to this

country.

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Here, we have many, many opportunities.

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We've got to just strive for it.

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And I think within hospitality, the main

thing you want to learn as a migrant is

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first and foremost, understand this

industry.

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I started it on default.

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If everything was okay, I would have still

been running someone's restaurant and

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maybe gone on to move in a job somewhere

else.

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I would have been happier in a sense

perhaps because my income would have been

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stable.

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So find the niche, find the thing, work

with people that will make you understand

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certain things.

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The fear is of course the language, one.

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And I think everybody that comes to this

country must learn English.

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It is absolutely essential that you become

conversant in English because that is the

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first factor that drops you down.

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And what immigrants try to do, which they

should never do, is work only within their

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community.

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It's wrong.

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We always want to work within our people,

so we talk the same language, we have the

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same culture, we work with the same

people, we eat the same food, we never

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learn.

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Learn to speak English first and mix in

within the people that are creating magic

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these days.

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Find a job, work as a porter if you want,

it doesn't matter.

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But will yourself never ever lose sight of

your vision or your dream.

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And that's what cripples most people.

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They lose sight of that vision.

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And if you think I'm going to make it, you

will make it.

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You will make it.

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And this country for everybody's sake, I

think is welcoming to that.

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You're very inspirational.

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So thank you.

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Talking about help and stuff like that,

are there any specific resources or

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: 00:15:53

support systems that you yourself have

found helpful that perhaps our listeners

325

: 00:15:57

might think, oh, I should go and

investigate that?

326

: 00:16:00

Most immigrants, sadly, sometimes.

327

: 00:16:04

find a way of how to live within the

system, rather than how to live outside

328

: 00:16:09

that system.

329

: 00:16:10

So my belief is that if we come in as a

migrant, if you make yourself comfortable

330

: 00:16:16

in accepting what is handed out to you,

you are always going to remain low.

331

: 00:16:21

So you need to come out of that level

first and come out of that comfort zone

332

: 00:16:25

and fight it.

333

: 00:16:26

That's the most important thing, which

most immigrants forget.

334

: 00:16:29

I had no idea that help was available when

I came in.

335

: 00:16:33

And when I first came to Britain, I

thought, wow, finally, I'm going to a land

336

: 00:16:38

where everybody will speak English.

337

: 00:16:40

So I do not have to train the staff.

338

: 00:16:42

I do not have to educate them.

339

: 00:16:44

And I'm going to have trained staff.

340

: 00:16:47

So in India, I'm battling all the time,

getting people from villages to train

341

: 00:16:52

them, educate them.

342

: 00:16:53

And when I came here, the shock just

slapped me in the face.

343

: 00:16:57

All the staff that inherited me, and three

f them are still with me from: 1991

344

: 00:17:03

and they are the core of the team here.

345

: 00:17:05

And they spoke like 15, 20 words of proper

English and they were brusque.

346

: 00:17:10

They were almost caught with the

customers.

347

: 00:17:13

The customers joked, they never understood

what the jokes were.

348

: 00:17:17

And so I started to ask friends who can

come and teach them English.

349

: 00:17:21

So we had a teacher from City of London

School whose wife was teaching our

350

: 00:17:25

children how to play the piano and she

said, Douglas will help you.

351

: 00:17:28

So Douglas would come and...

352

: 00:17:29

talk to them in English and make them as a

customer, how to react, all that.

353

: 00:17:34

And then the local council came to know,

the learning and East London tech came to

354

: 00:17:38

know.

355

: 00:17:39

Somebody approached, said you do training?

356

: 00:17:40

I said, yeah, but we can help you, he

said.

357

: 00:17:42

I said, how can you help me?

358

: 00:17:43

I've got no money, I said.

359

: 00:17:44

He said, no, we will fund you.

360

: 00:17:47

And that's how it started.

361

: 00:17:48

I got more involved with them.

362

: 00:17:50

And that led to a new partnership that was

formed here, they're called the East

363

: 00:17:53

London hospitality business partnership.

364

: 00:17:55

They managed to get hotel, personal

managers on board.

365

: 00:17:59

We got a couple of colleges that deliver

training.

366

: 00:18:01

That then went on further.

367

: 00:18:03

We started to get help in teaching the

staff a few things.

368

: 00:18:08

And that led to then me being convinced

that we should open our own school.

369

: 00:18:12

I got involved with education within

government.

370

: 00:18:15

And it went on from one to another to

another.

371

: 00:18:17

I got very actively involved.

372

: 00:18:19

Eventually we tied up with two other

restaurant, one Thai, one Chinese.

373

: 00:18:24

The Thai restaurant, Atik Chaudhary runs

Yum Thai restaurants and Holland Kwok, who

374

: 00:18:28

has a chain of restaurants called Good

Earth, went to the government office for

375

: 00:18:31

London and said we need some money to put

up a school.

376

: 00:18:34

Nobody understood, nobody wanted to.

377

: 00:18:36

But we persevered.

378

: 00:18:37

I went and gave a little presentation.

379

: 00:18:39

One person said yes and we got a bit of

money, but it had to be tied down to a

380

: 00:18:44

local body.

381

: 00:18:45

So within Hackney Community College, we

opened the world's first Asian and

382

: 00:18:48

Oriental School of Catering.

383

: 00:18:50

We put 960 young kids into full-time jobs

within five years.

384

: 00:18:54

And then the government took away the

funding because they didn't understand

385

: 00:18:56

hospitality.

386

: 00:18:57

Even though we had great results, but they

took away that funding and they put it

387

: 00:19:01

into something else.

388

: 00:19:02

It took us seven years to pay back the

overdraft, which we had personally

389

: 00:19:05

guaranteed.

390

: 00:19:06

My wife wasn't very happy.

391

: 00:19:09

She wasn't very happy.

392

: 00:19:11

She still thinks I'm an idiot.

393

: 00:19:12

So that's fine.

394

: 00:19:14

That hasn't changed in our mind yet.

395

: 00:19:16

So it's fine.

396

: 00:19:17

I wasn't prepared to give up.

397

: 00:19:18

Then I said, why am I doing this to tackle

these kids who are thrown out of school

398

: 00:19:23

and nobody wants them in East London.

399

: 00:19:24

This is way before Mr.

400

: 00:19:25

Jamie Oliver opened 15.

401

: 00:19:28

We were doing it so that we could bring

those kids from getting onto the streets

402

: 00:19:32

and causing mayhem into doing something

constructive.

403

: 00:19:35

Then we started this competition called

Zest West Asia.

404

: 00:19:38

So the idea was now to look at young

students of British origin.

405

: 00:19:43

Age is not a barrier, they can be 50 years

old, so long as they're in study, in

406

: 00:19:47

full-time education they can enter.

407

: 00:19:49

And the idea is to veer them into their

thinking, so which is what we are talking

408

: 00:19:53

about.

409

: 00:19:53

Out of your box, thinking British and

French only to thinking the world.

410

: 00:19:58

And Asia is 80 countries from Turkey to

Japan.

411

: 00:20:01

And so this competition is now in its 12th

year, become extremely successful, is the

412

: 00:20:05

most sought after inter-college

competitions.

413

: 00:20:08

When students and teachers write to me, it

brings, it wells you up.

414

: 00:20:13

how much you have done to actually

encourage them to do something different.

415

: 00:20:18

The prize is going taking them to Asia for

10 days where they learn.

416

: 00:20:22

So as migrants, I think we need to

appreciate what has been given to you

417

: 00:20:29

rather than constantly keep mourning about

this not being right or that not being

418

: 00:20:33

right, fight to become better.

419

: 00:20:36

So everybody has a vision and they should

keep that vision going.

420

: 00:20:40

I don't know what my vision is yet.

421

: 00:20:42

I know because I'm involved in 50

different activities.

422

: 00:20:45

But the important thing is that we did

make a difference.

423

: 00:20:47

We made a mark.

424

: 00:20:48

We have influenced many, many young chefs

who are now aspiring to do different

425

: 00:20:54

things in their lives.

426

: 00:20:56

I think you have a clear vision from what

you're saying.

427

: 00:20:58

It's like, for me, from what you're

saying, it's like serving people through

428

: 00:21:01

food and culture.

429

: 00:21:03

It's serving people through education and

knowledge.

430

: 00:21:06

You give, basically.

431

: 00:21:08

And I think that's why you're involved in

so many different things.

432

: 00:21:10

It's all about giving.

433

: 00:21:12

Life has to be about giving.

434

: 00:21:14

I mean, if you don't give, what else is

there in life?

435

: 00:21:17

You can't take anything back.

436

: 00:21:22

Okay, so our listeners know that I'm a

complete fan girl when it comes to

437

: 00:21:27

MasterChef.

438

: 00:21:28

Your involvement in MasterChef has been

really significant.

439

: 00:21:31

Number one, it's exciting.

440

: 00:21:33

Number two, it motivates people.

441

: 00:21:35

The MasterChef platform is not just

exciting for people interested in cooking.

442

: 00:21:41

The whole idea of food has motivated

Britain no extent.

443

: 00:21:46

Everybody is into food in some shape or

form.

444

: 00:21:49

It is very important that there is a

program there

445

: 00:21:52

triggering people's imaginations.

446

: 00:21:53

And Master Chef is doing that.

447

: 00:21:56

He's doing that because there are people

watching closely.

448

: 00:21:59

And I think Master Chefs and other cookery

programs encourage people to look outside

449

: 00:22:04

their spaghetti bolognese and do something

else with it.

450

: 00:22:07

So my last question.

451

: 00:22:08

Yeah.

452

: 00:22:08

And there's a person that you keep

bringing up in the conversation.

453

: 00:22:13

Yeah.

454

: 00:22:13

And I was wondering, perhaps you might

wanna say a few words, and that's about

455

: 00:22:16

your wife.

456

: 00:22:17

She's also been an important part of your

journey.

457

: 00:22:20

I do bring her up all the time.

458

: 00:22:21

But, Pervin, is that she was a student in

the catering institute in Bombay.

459

: 00:22:26

I had just come back from training in

Switzerland.

460

: 00:22:29

We had to all do industrial training in

India compulsorily to gain your

461

: 00:22:33

qualification.

462

: 00:22:34

And she was one of them.

463

: 00:22:35

I kept nosing around my kitchen.

464

: 00:22:37

And funnily enough, I had this thing in my

mind.

465

: 00:22:40

Yeah, I would marry that girl.

466

: 00:22:42

Yeah.

467

: 00:22:44

Wow.

468

: 00:22:44

And I took a bet with one of my colleagues

once.

469

: 00:22:47

And she's never let me forget that.

470

: 00:22:48

You bet.

471

: 00:22:50

You bet.

472

: 00:22:51

I said, actually, I did a bet.

473

: 00:22:53

You know, I did nothing good turn in my

favour.

474

: 00:22:56

And she came one day and said, we were

extra ticket for a movie.

475

: 00:22:59

Would you like to come and join us?

476

: 00:23:01

And from there it started.

477

: 00:23:03

And we've been married 39 years and two

weeks time.

478

: 00:23:06

If I'm in trouble, I have to go somewhere.

479

: 00:23:08

I know she can handle my kitchen because

she is very clever.

480

: 00:23:12

You need somebody strong behind you.

481

: 00:23:14

And she's been a pillar of strength all

throughout.

482

: 00:23:16

So.

483

: 00:23:17

She deserves every bit of recognition.

484

: 00:23:20

She's an integral part of not just the

business, but me and everything.

485

: 00:23:25

I found the best, most stable partner in

the world.

486

: 00:23:27

That's better than that.

487

: 00:23:29

Big shout out to her.

488

: 00:23:29

Yeah, that's amazing.

489

: 00:23:34

that sound Cyrus it's the sound of a quick

fire round.

490

: 00:23:38

Yeah, super.

491

: 00:23:39

Wow, what does that mean?

492

: 00:23:41

If we can quick fire answer.

493

: 00:23:43

Yes, that's correct.

494

: 00:23:44

So we find that chefs, particularly chefs

that have been on TV, don't often give one

495

: 00:23:50

word answers so we've decided to run a

competition.

496

: 00:23:54

All right.

497

: 00:23:55

You're gonna get marked on your speed,

your timings and the closeness to using

498

: 00:24:02

one word.

499

: 00:24:03

answers to the questions that we're gonna

give.

500

: 00:24:05

Now it's a good thing you're sitting down,

Cyrus.

501

: 00:24:08

Do you want to know why?

502

: 00:24:09

Because there's a prize.

503

: 00:24:10

Do you want to know what the prize is?

504

: 00:24:13

I know I'm not gonna win it because I

can't give one answer.

505

: 00:24:17

He's already proclaimed that you're the

darling.

506

: 00:24:20

So it's very difficult for me.

507

: 00:24:22

One word answer.

508

: 00:24:24

Let the prize be as a suspense.

509

: 00:24:27

The winner will get the amazing prize of

510

: 00:24:32

£10 Amazon Pages.

511

: 00:24:33

Alright.

512

: 00:24:34

You ready?

513

: 00:24:34

Ready.

514

: 00:24:35

Spend the night however you wish.

515

: 00:24:45

Dream job as a child?

516

: 00:24:47

Farmer.

517

: 00:24:48

Last good book you read?

518

: 00:24:49

National Geographic.

519

: 00:24:50

Favourite movie genre?

520

: 00:24:51

I like western movies.

521

: 00:24:53

Good, the bad and the ugly.

522

: 00:24:54

Your go-to comfort food?

523

: 00:24:56

Dal and rice.

524

: 00:24:57

Early bird or night owl?

525

: 00:24:59

Both.

526

: 00:25:00

What's your spirit animal?

527

: 00:25:01

Dog.

528

: 00:25:02

Hidden talent?

529

: 00:25:03

I'm good at DIY.

530

: 00:25:04

What's the favourite city you've ever

visited?

531

: 00:25:07

Geneva if you want.

532

: 00:25:08

What's your guilty pleasure song?

533

: 00:25:11

Is by Beth Midler?

534

: 00:25:13

Eagle.

535

: 00:25:14

And it always reminds me of Pervin.

536

: 00:25:17

What's your best concert you've ever

attended?

537

: 00:25:20

Ouswan Lake.

538

: 00:25:21

Your favourite historical era?

539

: 00:25:23

The reign of Cyrus the Great.

540

: 00:25:25

Who's your dream dinner guest?

541

: 00:25:26

David Attenborough.

542

: 00:25:27

What's your ideal weekend activity?

543

: 00:25:29

Gardening.

544

: 00:25:30

What's your most used app?

545

: 00:25:33

WhatsApp.

546

: 00:25:37

It's the very doubt.

547

: 00:25:38

All the time.

548

: 00:25:40

Coffee or tea?

549

: 00:25:41

Tea.

550

: 00:25:42

Last hobby you picked up?

551

: 00:25:43

Influencing young kids.

552

: 00:25:45

What's the first thing you'd buy if you

won the lottery?

553

: 00:25:48

Pay off all my expenses.

554

: 00:25:50

Favourite ice cream flavour?

555

: 00:25:51

Peanut butter with chocolate.

556

: 00:25:53

Oh.

557

: 00:25:54

What was the last thing you googled?

558

: 00:25:56

On a particular appointment, what it does

and how good it is.

559

: 00:26:00

And your go-to karaoke song?

560

: 00:26:02

An old Engelbert number.

561

: 00:26:04

If colours had sounds, what would blue

sound like?

562

: 00:26:09

This.

563

: 00:26:10

and tranquility.

564

: 00:26:10

What do you call a fake noodle?

565

: 00:26:13

A bad pasta.

566

: 00:26:14

And what's a ghost's favourite dessert?

567

: 00:26:21

So that is now over, you can breathe

again.

568

: 00:26:23

The answer is of course, an impasta.

569

: 00:26:26

And the other one is a blueberry pie.

570

: 00:26:28

Blueberry pie.

571

: 00:26:32

Tracy, we've just had this competition,

now we need to add up and work out the

572

: 00:26:36

score, don't we?

573

: 00:26:36

We do.

574

: 00:26:37

We're going to calculate.

575

: 00:26:38

The score will be passed, don't worry

about it.

576

: 00:26:40

Just do that.

577

: 00:26:40

Remember, he actually failed to answer any

questions with one word.

578

: 00:26:44

Yep.

579

: 00:26:45

Yes, a million.

580

: 00:26:47

I only have two with one word.

581

: 00:26:49

Thank you, yep thanks for reminding me of

that.

582

: 00:26:51

Divided by seven, I think.

583

: 00:26:54

So we are 54.

584

: 00:26:57

So what does that mean, Cyrus?

585

: 00:27:00

Well, you're gonna have to follow the

season to find out.

586

: 00:27:02

It's bad news.

587

: 00:27:06

Well, wait till the end and find out.

588

: 00:27:08

It's a pleasure.

589

: 00:27:08

Thank you for making the time to see it.

590

: 00:27:10

Thank you for showing your insights.

591

: 00:27:15

Sadly, that's all of this episode of

Talking Hospitality with me, Tracy Vachid

592

: 00:27:20

and Timothy R.

593

: 00:27:20

Andrews.

594

: 00:27:21

But tune in next week, where we'll have

another fabulous guest who will be talking

595

: 00:27:25

hospitality.

596

: 00:27:25

So a big thank you to all our listeners

who have made this podcast possible.

597

: 00:27:30

Don't forget to like and subscribe

wherever you get your podcasts.

598

: 00:27:33

Thank you for listening and stay safe and

well.

599

: 00:27:45

installation